Canada Women’s National Team’s Paris Olympics journey may have ended, but their espionage case isn’t done for good. Each day brings a fresh turn in the narrative as the Canucks’ both men’s and women’s side grapple with the scrutiny. According to the latest eyebrow-raising revelation from an insider, CanMNT used a drone to spy on one of the training sessions of the US Men’s National Team.

While most of the scoop has made the headlines throughout the columns of TSN—courtesy of journalist Rick Westhead, Men in Blazers’ Vamos with Herc Gomez invited the man himself as a guest on their latest podcast. Gomez asked the writer how long the Canadian coaching staff had been utilizing the drone to spy on rivals. Interestingly, Westhead replies, “Going back to before the pandemic.”

The esteemed journalist assured me that a lot of research was done before the news was broken by him. Westhead even mentioned that aside from consulting lawyers, involved names including Joseph Lombardi, Jasmine Mander, and John Herdman were also contacted by him to get the correct information amid the ongoing investigation. This saw Westhead accumulate further data: “It has gone back for years, at least in 2019, when the men’s staff had a drone up over the USMNT practice.”

Though Gomez did mention that the US Soccer Federation was aware they were being spied on by Canada, the Eagles refused to report it. The USMNT icon revealed that it was allegedly done to maintain the political equilibrium between the two nations, especially now that Canada and the USA are hosting the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. While many would question USMNT for not reporting Canada, that doesn’t mean others spared them!

USMNT is not alone as past spying reports keep Canada in the negative limelight

Rick Westhead previously reported that some coaching staff members used a drone to spy on Costa Rica’s closed training session before the Canada men’s FIFA U17 World Cup qualifier at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, on May 12, 2019. This was the same match in which the CanMNT U17 team won in the penalty shootout to advance to the World Cup in Brazil, only to endure failure within the group stage.

The report also revealed that Canada Soccer’s coaching staff received immediate backlash from IMG for operating a drone above the legal altitude limit, which is 6.8 miles from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

In a separate incident from 2021, while the CanMNT was preparing to play Honduras in a World Cup qualifier in Toronto, the Honduran team had to cut short a training session after spotting a drone overhead. Although fingers were raised at the Canadians, these claims were never substantiated. Wait, there’s more!

Additionally, a year later, Panama’s football federation accused Canada Soccer of sending an employee to spy on a closed practice. However, CONCACAF spokesman Nick Noble confirmed that Panama’s efforts to file a complaint went in vain as the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Nonetheless, these reports make it evident that the operation has been conducted by Canada’s men’s team as well. Not to mention that Bev Priestman’s leaked email further connects the dots, with the British tactician admitting that “there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it.” Either way, let’s see what happens at this stage.